You're Not Invincible
by michi-mercer
Summary: Set six years prior to the unleashing of the virus. 24 year-old Alex Mercer pushes himself past his limit and ends up getting sick. Stubborn as he is, he tries to hide it from his suspicious16 year-old little sister...Dana Mercer. Little did he know... It's all about to go down hill from there. Rated T for language and slight violence. Co-written with jeanosauryehet27
1. Chapter 1

**YOU'RE NOT INVINCIBLE...**

 **By:** michi-mercer

 **A/N:** Co-written by jeanosauryehet27

* * *

 ** _Upper West Side, Renalia building, Alex Mercer's Apartment_**

It was 6:30 in the morning, the sun was already shining through his apartment's window and every living being in this world was having a blissful morning.

Except for Alex Mercer. He got out of work at two and since taxis are limited and usually full at this time, the young scientist had to run back home in the rain.

Walking back there would have taken him two hours, running there would take him about half the time. Nevertheless, he'll still be under the rain. Taking off his coat, he wrapped it around his briefcase as an extra precaution.

He arrived back in his apartment, severely drenched in the rain and he was so damn tired that he just kicked off his shoes and plopped down on his bed... instantly falling asleep as his head hit the pillow.

And now here he was, inside his room preparing for work; with a shitty headache.

 _Fuck... I really should stop agreeing to work overtime._ Alex scolded himself, rubbing each of his temples. Looking at the mirror, he noticed the effects of stress and lack of sleep on his face.

Sighing, he made his way to his desk when suddenly he felt intense pain coming from his head. He bent over to his desk, gripping the sides for support as he waited for the pain to ebb away.

After a few moments stuck like that, he slowly walked over to his seat and sat down. Closing his tired eyes, he almost fell asleep; but was woken up by someone knocking on his door. Sitting up straighter, he cleared his throat and fixed his glasses.

"Come in..." he called, although it sounded more like a rasp.

Opening the door, young Dana Mercer poked her head inside before entering. "Good morning, Alex. I was just about to go to school and I figured that I wanted to see you before I go, since I haven't even seen your shadow last night."

Rubbing the back of his head, Alex focused his attention to his little sister and forced a smile.

"I'm sorry about that, it's just that... I need to earn money for your college and they need me back there and I-" but was cut off when he started coughing.

Worried, Dana ran towards her older brother and rubbed circles on his back. Moaning in relief, Alex slumped on his seat and yawned tiredly.

"Are you okay Alex? You look kinda' pale..." she asked, worriedly.

Shaking his head, the young adult faced his sister. "I'm fine, lil' sis. Now... take this and go you little rascal." He answered, smiling. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his wallet and grabbed a couple of dollars.

"Okay... I'll be going then, see you later!" Dana said, waving goodbye as she stepped out of the room.

Left alone inside his room, Alex Mercer decided to finally go to work. But before he did, he took a small container from his desk and poured its contents to his palm and popped them in his mouth.

 _Let's just see if I can make it through the day without passing out..._ he whispered to himself and went outside.

* * *

 ** _GENTEK Facility, Gramercy, 8:00 a.m._**

Entering the facililty, Alex was already bombarded by the press and co-wokers.

"Dr. Mercer! How does it feel to be the youngest Head Researcher of Gentek?"

"What are your plans for becoming Head Researcher?"

"Dr. Mercer, what do you plan to contribute to Gentek?"

"Dr. Mercer! Why are you so hot?"

"Dr. Mercer! Can I have a kiss?"

"Dr. Mercer! Can I have some of _that_!"

 _Shit_ , Alex growled in his mind as he tried to slip away from the bombarding press. His head throbbed painfully that his vision was already becoming blurred on the spot.

"Aacckk!" He yelped when someone pulled him to the side. Not even bothering to check who it was, he let himself be dragged away from the pestering crowd and into the break room.

"You really got to watch your back nowadays, Mercer. Or you might end up on a silver platter." A man's voice teased.

"Oh, leave him be Travis... Just be glad that you managed to save him from those piranhas." A female voice nagged.

"I WUV ICE CWEAM!" Another female voice shouted.

Blinking a few times, Alex's blurred sight reverted back to normal and he saw three figures inside the break room.

"You 'kay, Lexie?" The second female asked, placing a hand gently on his back.

"Unngghh..." Alex groaned as the pain in his head increased as each second passed.

"Shit! He's burning up!" The other female yelled, running across the room.

The man-Travis, grabbed Alex by his shoulders and led him to a nearby chair. "Sit." He ordered and moved away.

"Yow Angela! Where's the ice?" Travis barked.

"Coming!" She called and ran towards Alex's side, "Jean get a cloth or something." Angela said.

"Yep!" She answered and took a towel from one of the cabinets. "Here you go!" Jean chirped and tossed the towel to Angela.

"Thanks!" Angela said and grabbed a handful of ice from the pack and placed it at the center of the towel, wrapping it tightly and gently dabbed it on his forehead.

Travis came back holding a small container, opening it he took a small amount of the substance, rolling up Alex's sleeve and spread it across the young scientist's wrist and arm.

"Oi Jean! Massage him!" Travis barked.

Jean shot the man a glare and then proceeded to sit beside Alex and took his arm, rubbing and masaging it expertly and gently with her small hands.

Cracking one eye open, Alex saw little of what was going on around him. But he knew that his friends were taking care of him, so he closed his eyes again.

"Enjoying youself, Mercer?" Angela asked. "You could've just stayed at home if you weren't feeling well."

Shaking his head, Alex lazily opened his eyes and opened his mouth to talk.

"Can't..." he rasped. "Need to... work." But burst out into a coughing fit, which worried the trio even more.

"You sure Mercer? I'm sure you need to go home and rest. If somebody was suffering with whatever you have right now, they'll already be a puddle of goo on the floor." Travis told him, crossing his arms on his chest.

"No," Alex shook his head in response and drifted back to subconsciousness.

"Typical Alexander J. Mercer," Angela muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes.

"Someone's gotta worry about him. He's been independent ever since his mother went cuckoo..." Jean added.

"Maybe we should call his sister then," Angela suggested.

"No!" The trio jumped slightly at Alex's sudden outburst. "No..." he moaned and drifted again to subconsciousness.

"Maybe not..." Travis remarked. Sighing, he started pacing around the room and began whispering things the two couldn't understand.

"Shit. Why does Alex have to be so difficult?" Angela whined and Jean nodded in agreement.

"Maybe it's the Mercer genes," Jean noted. "He's been like that since he first worked here. Always drowned himself with work."

"We should really call his sister y'know," Travis nagged, eyeing at Alex who was slumped on the chair, eyes closed and his breathing ragged. "What's her name again? Diana... Daniella? Danica-"

"It's Dana, jackhole," Angela snapped. "And I'm 100% sure that Alex will shove the 8" blade down our throats if he finds out that we brought his sister to GENTEK, disrupting her classes."

"Yeah right," Travis scoffed. "There was this one time when he left the _very_ important board meeting to pick up his little princess from school, just because she had a tiny gash on her palm."

"You're just jealous 'cause Alex has a very pretty sister," Jean retorted. "And you couldn't ask her to date you 'cause her brother is a part of the higher ups named Alex fucking Mercer."

" _Holy shit!_ You like Dana?! You better start digging your own grave, junior." Angela chuckled. "Or Alex will be the one to dig it with your _fucking_ corpse."

Travis snarled and continued pacing about the room. As the three scientists continued to think of another plan to convince the very stubborn Alex to go home and rest, they suddenly heard a large groan.

Running over to his side, Angela almost placed the back of her hand on his forehead; if it weren't for the scalding heat that emanated from him.

"Somebody grab a pack of ice from Antartica, 'cause this person is about to become the next Darth _fucking_ Vader!" Angela yelled.

"We should get it from Hoth, not Antartica," Jean corrected and Angela nodded in agreement.

"Well enough with the Star Wars fuck!" Travis boomed. "I'll get the ice from the underworld-I mean, freezer... damn it!"

"Then get it or I'll shove your freaking ass to hell!" Angela barked.

Travis didn't answer and simply ran off towards the freezer in the break room.

"Gods, What the hell happened to you Alex?" Travis mumbled as he handed the ice pack to Angela.

"I'm guessing he took the overnight shift." Jean slurred.

"And I say he ran back home in the rain after he finished his overtime shift." Angela added.

"Idiot," Travis muttered and rolled his eyes. "Only 24 and he's already working himself to death..."

"Try raising a kid on your own and see what happens," Angela shot back. "And if you want to have Dana's hand in marriage then be nice to your future brother-in-law..." she added with a smirk.

"Don't mind me," Travis growled.

"Are you two done bickering like two-year olds... or are you going to help me with this crap." Jean's voice boomed. Making Travis and Angela flinch, and Alex stir.

"Uunnngghh..." Alex moaned and moved his head to one side that was beaded with sweat. " _Work..._ " he mumbled.

"Seriously? Even when he's like this, he's still thinking about work." Angela facepalmed.

"We should really call Dana-"

"ENOUGH WITH THE 'SHOULD CALL CRAP'! JUST GET IT DONE!" Travis boomed, making the two females glare at him.

"You ordering your seniors, Travis?" Angela growled.

"Not very nice of you..." Jean added, with a hint of malice in her tone.

Shaking, Travis took one tentative step backwards and raised his arms in defense.

"N-No! Of course not!" He said in defense, "I'll do it." And took his phone out of his pocket.

But a hand grabbed him and took the phone away from him. Turning around, he saw Alex with his phone swaying slightly as he struggled to keep himself upright.

"I... thought I told you... No!" Alex shouted as he threw Travis' phone on the ground, possibly breaking it.

"My phone!" Travis whined as he gathered it up on his hands. "And I just paid it off..."

"Alex!" Angela shrieked. "Sit down and I'll call a cab to take you home." And bolted out of the room.

Staggering slightly, Alex made his way outside... ushering away the help of his two other friends.

"Just promise us you'll go home..." Jean pleaded as she took his arm. Looking at her and back at Travis... Alex nodded and left the room.

Once outside, he tried to act casual as different set of people greeted him and him greeted them back.

Unconsciously, he straightened his posture and walked out the facility. Angela saw him and immediately moved to his side, supporting him and hiding his face from the world.

"We don't want the press to see your sick face..." Angela whispered. "Now... I'm going to wait with you out here until you get inside a taxi." She added.

"No... I can do that myself." Alex persuaded her and removed her hand on his shoulder, "Go back inside. Your team probably needs you by now." As if on cue, Angela's phone rang and she muttered a curse underneath her breath.

"Are you prophetic or something?" Angela called as she answered her phone and ran back inside. "Go home!" She yelled one last time, before she was out of sight.

Squinting as bright light shone directly on his tired eyes, he moved to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a cab. But a cab parked itself in front of him and he was about to open the door, when it opened and a man stepped out.

"Mercer... How's my favourite scientist?" The man greeted and patted Alex on his shoulder, roughly.

Trying his best to act normal around the man, Alex forced a smile to his lips and greeted the man half-heartedly.

"Dr. McMullen... It's always a great pleasure to see you." Although I want to go home and sleep this damn thing off... he thought to himself, as he was found being led inside the facility once more and into his office where McMullen gestured Alex to sit as he sat on his own chair.

"What brings you to the facility, sir?" The younger man asked.

Smiling, McMullen took out a pile of documents, folders, flashdrives and stacked them in front of the confused scientist.

"This is quite urgent matter, my dear lad." Clasping his hands together, McMullen became serious and stared directly into Alex's steely-blue eyes.

"You see, there was a slight disarray back in the reasearch laboratory on Russia and they need me to help Dr. Parker to stabilize the faciltity. But I have a lot of things to finish here too, and so..." And he started rambling on and on about all the stuff that he needed to do, that would've taken Alex a day.

But he has his own problems to deal with right now and he sure as hell wasn't going to start listening to McMullen's useless ramblings. And the fact that he was talking about his ex-girlfriend...

"-that could allow us to alter the genes of different kinds of species and re-arrange their DNA's." Alex heard McMullen as he decided to finally decided to listen. "Now the question is... are you willing to work even past overtime?"

 _Choices... made to confuse and mess up the human brain even more._ "I would be honoured to..." he lied and took the stuff out and into his office.

"I'm counting on you Mercer!" McMulled called as he prepared to leave for Russia. "I'll be back next week if I can manage and I expect it to be done by then."

"What am I doing with my life..." Alex whispered to himself.

Setting down the pile of paperwork on his desk, he sat down and opened the first folder. _This is going to be a pain in the ass..._

* * *

 _GENTEK_ _Facility,_ _2:59 a.m._

" _Fucking Hell!_ " Alex cursed as he continously banged his head on his desk. _If I don't finish this... I'll go fucking crazy!_! He was almost done scanning and writing reports about the files, McMullen gave him and he was just one step away from collapsing at this moment.

 _Meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow~_

 _Meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow~_

 _Crap._ Groaning, Alex fished his phone out of his pocket and answered the call.

"This is Alex Mercer," he slurred. "Whatever bullshit you have to throw at me this time, can you keep it in your pants for one day... as I am currently preoccupied at the moment."

 _"Oh... if you're preoccupied I guess I'll call later."_

 _Oh shit!_ Alex cursed to himself. "Wa-wa-wait! Dana?"

 _"Hey Alex! Are you sure that I'm not disturbing you? I was going to hang up since I disrupted whatever it is you're working on."_ She said.

"No! Not at all..." Alex chirped and mentally slapped himself for that one. "Why aren't you asleep right now?"

 _"I was wondering if you're available later,"_ she replied. _"I bought two tickets for the showing of the movie Frankenstein and since we never hang out lately..."_

"Of course Dana," _This is my sister after all._ "I'd be glad to spend time with you." He told her and started packing all the files.

 _"Really! Gosh, thanks Alex! Love you!"_ Dana chirped and Alex swore he knew that she was happily jumping around right about now.

"Love you too..." he whispered and hanged up.

Leaning on his seat with a sigh, Alex rubbed his temples, wondering how he can survive much longer in his condition.

* * *

"What the hell Alex?! What are you still doing here?!" Jean's voice boomed when she met Alex in the hallway with a briefcase in hand.

"What are you doing here?" Alex quipped.

"I'm on my nightshift bucko," Jean snapped, hands settled on her hips. "I thought you were back home."

"McMullen gave me another task," He said. "But don't worry, I'm on my way home now."

"Well that's good," Jean breathed. "Because we wouldn't want another body to be delivered to the morgue. Now shoo, go home or I'll call your sis to drag you."

Alex shot her a threatening look before waving goodbye.

 _This time, I'm really going home._

"Taxi!" He called. Stopping, the cab driver opened the door from the inside and Alex entered graciously.

Setting the briefcase down, he leaned back in the seat and closed the door. "Upper westside, Renalia building please."

The cab driver nodded and began to drive towards his passenger's destination. Not even after five minutes has passed, the taxi was hailed by another passenger.

"Oh sorry... I thought it was empty, you take it." The man apologized and closed the door.

Blinking in confusion, Alex stopped the taxi and called the man. "Nah... you take it sir. I can take the next one."

Shaking his head, the man thanked him and gave him 10 dollars as compromise.

Once the cab left, Alex shivered as the cold air blew against him... making him pull his coat tighter around his shivering body.

 _Crap, I'm going to die before I could even reach home._ Rubbing his tired eyes, Alex began walking towards the direction of his house; when he unciousciously took a wrong turn due to his pounding head.

"Oh sorry sir," Alex apologized. "I wasn't looking on my way-" But his sentence was cut off when he felt something cold, pressed up against his jaw.

"Don't move," the stranger snarled. "Or I'll slice your head off. Give me your wallet and that briefcase and I'll spare your life."

"I won't give you my suitcase," He shot back. "Get the fuck off my way or you'll be a sorry ass."

The man growled. "You're a tough guy aren't you?" He challenged. "Now do as what I say or I'll slit your goddamn throat."

Growling, Alex raised his briefcase higher and slammed it against the man's jaw. In return, the mugger decided to charge at him with knife in hand... screaming as he charged.

Alex smirked and took the oppurtunity to step sideways, the knife missing its target and the attacker stumbled forward.

"You know... I don't appreciate being in audience with scum like you." Alex hissed and punched the man in the face. With his free hand, the mugger jabbed at Alex and he was taken aback. Clenching his fists, Alex returned a punch and kicked the man square in the chest... sending him slamming against the wall, breath ragged.

"I think you should go home now." Alex suggested and turned around.

Hearing the man's footsteps, Alex groaned and turned back around. At the right moment, Alex grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it... making his attacker scream in pain as he dropped the knife and clutched his injured wrist.

"That'll teach you not to mess with me." Alex growled as he walked away from the man, stopping as he took the knife and smiled. "I'll be taking this."

Once he was out of sight, Alex threw the knife in the trash bin and continued his stroll. Thinking that the fight cured his illness, Alex leisurely walked away. But after a minute of happiness, his knees gave out under his weight and he was sent crashing down the sidewalk.

"Adrenaline... should have seen that coming." Alex breathed as he picked himself off of the sidewalk.

"Are you okay, mister?" A small voice spoke while tugging his coat. Alex turned his head down and saw a little girl around eight. She stared at him with her wide blue eyes and her brunette hair was tied into pigtails. Alex swore that the girl reminded him of his little Dana when she was younger.

"I'm okay," He assured the child. "I'm just... tired." Yeah. Tired. Even if he was sick for two freaking days.

"Oh. Mommy says when you'te tired, go to sleep so that you'll grow stronger and taller," the girl told him and pulled him closer to her. She leaned down and planted a small kiss on his forehead. "Get rest mister. You're sick." She smiled and placed her small hand on his cheek.

"Okay, kid. Now run along home to your mom. I'm sure she's worried about you." And ruffled her hair.

Smiling, the little girl bounced away and left. "Bye mister!" She called over her shoulder as she waved goodbye to the scientist.

 _What time is it... 3:45! I have to make a run for it!_ And thus ending with Alex running back home.

"Made it..." Alex gasped as he opened the door to his apartment. "Dana?" He called.

"Alex? You're back!" Dana squealed as she ran towards him. "Alex nasty! Go take a shower!" She barked as she saw her brother beaded with sweat.

Looking at himself, Alex nodded and plodded towards the bathroom upstairs.

Once he was finished showering and clothing himself, he went downstairs and entered the living room where he saw Dana handing him a piece of clothing.

"I figured we should wear matching clothes," Dana said and shoved the material into Alex's arms.

Alex took the material and examined it with both of his hands. It was a hoodie jacket, navy blue in color and a letter _A_ imprinted on the upper left side of the jacket. Dana's jacket is light pink in color and a letter _D_ imprinted on it.

"We're siblings Dana, not couples," he reminded her.

Dana rolled her eyes. "Do you think couples are the only ones who can wear matching clothes? Geez Alex... Besides it's cute."

"Fine," he grumbled and put it on. He heard Dana squealing and a loud click resonated fron her phone, followed by a flash.

"Stop that!" He whined.

Dana put her phone away and pouted. "What a whiny baby..."

"Let's just go." Alex pressed and dragged Dana outside. While he was dragging her, Dana became confused at the thought of Alex's hand being cold when the rest of his body is warm.

Alex noticed this and let Dana's hand go, "So... what are your plans?"

Forgetting about the confusing thought for the moment, Dana smiled and flashed the tickets in front of him.

* * *

They first went to the movies, making fun of the other people there who were screaming. In Alex's case... he resisted the urge to sleep there and possibly arouse Dana's suspicion.

Once they had arrived at the skating rink, the two siblings each rented their ice skates and went out on the ice.

"Woohoo! Isn't this fun!" Dana called over her shoulder as she raced around the rink. "Come on, slowpoke!"

Alex gripped the wall for support as he tried to catch up with his sister. He wasn't a bad skater and he'd gone skating several times, especially in winter. But in his condition, he'll surely collapse.

Picking up his speed, Alex raced after Dana and pushed himself. As he was growing nearer, his shitty headache acted up again and his vision blurred.

"Watch out!" Dana yelled, but she was too late.

Alex collapsed to the ground as he collided with another skater, "Watch it you motherfucker!" The man yelled as he didn't even help the fallen scientist.

People started gathering around him and he knew he was cornered. Alex was panicking, not something that he would normally do... but he was feeling vulnerable right now and that wasn't a good sign.

"Get out of the way!" He heard his sister yell. "Make some room people! Don't you know anything about these kinds of situations?!" Alex saw Dana shoving a few people aside and before he knew it... he was being held upright by Dana.

Leading him away from the breaking crowd, Dana opened the gate and helped him outside the rink and pulled up a chair.

"Sit," she ordered. Alex obeyed and slumped down on the chair with a sigh.

Dana pulled out her bag and took a small bottle of water from inside then gave it to Alex, who was breathing rather heavily.

Alex took the bottle and drank it in a one large gulp. No one of them spoke for a minute until Dana broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me?" At this point, Alex was both confused and nervous at the same time.

"Alex... please don't bottle-up. Please tell me what you're going through." Dana begged, with her hand on his cheek; she turned his face gently towards her and looked into his blue eyes.

"I want to help you... But I can't do it if you don't tell me! Please Alex! Please don't shut me out." Dana sobbed into his chest, tightening her hold on his jacket. "Please... what happened to 'No secrets from each other'?"

Alex remained silent, he was tempted to tell her and get it over with. But if he were to tell her... Dana would sure to worry about him to death.

"You know what? I don't care at this moment!" Dana snapped. "You don't want to talk to me? Fine! Have it your way!" And stomped away, returning her rented skates and continued walking away.

"Dana..." Alex breathed.

In the distance, one couple gossiped loudly.

"That's going to leave a nasty mark." The girl told her boyfriend. "Other people just can't stay in love like us, right honey?"

"Of course, sweetie." He agreed and kissed his girlfriend on the lips.

Growling as he stood up, Alex made his way towards the couple and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry to interupt your make out session out in the public," he started. Catching the couples attention, they faced him with hatred in their eyes.

"But what right do you have to say those things to us? You don't even think with those brain of yours." He snapped. "We're not couples a'right! We're siblings! Did it ever occur to you two knuckleheads, that by not talking to her at that moment... I saved her from a truckload of stress."

"Sorry man... just let it go." The man said and turned away. The man's girlfriend glanced back at him and mouthed 'jackass' before flouncing away with her boyfriend.

As annoyed as he was Alex decided to leave her be and returned his skates, he went outside and sighed as he remembered Dana going home without him.

Coughing as the cold and bitter air entered his pained lungs, he hailed a cab and was silent the entire time.

* * *

 ** _Upper Westside, Renalia building, Alex Mercer's apartment, 4:25 a.m._**

Opening the door as quiet as he could be, the young scientist tiptoed into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

As soon as he did, he fell to his knees and stayed like that for a few minutes. When he finally decided to stand up, Alex leaned against the wall and used it for support. Slowly walking towards the stairs, Alex's mind swam as he swallowed down bile.

He had to keep his hand on the wall to restrain himself from sinking to the floor, his head throbbing madly as he tried to even his breathing.

 _Cold... so cold..._ Alex thought to himself as he climbed up the first step.

He should have know playing unaffected was a bad idea. Now it amplified to another degree... Inside, his head ached in a way that he was sure that it would split in the middle, along with nauseating knots churning within his stomach. His body felt extremely cold as well, like there was something clawing up and down on his spine.

Despite feeling nauseated and dizzy, Alex finally made it up the stairs. But as soon as his feet touched the floor, his surroundings started to spin around him and he closed his eyes shut... desperate to make it stop.

Entering his room, he didn't even dare to switch the lights on-though he couldn't see a single thing right now. The splitting headache only got worse and Alex found himself leaning against his bedroom wall, the pressure against his aching head easing the pain for a moment.

But then the pain came back with full force, sending him staggering backwards. It was over the point where playing unaffected was useless, hiding his pain and stress.

 _Oh god! Wha-what if Dana saw me? What if they all find out! I need to... I need to-_ but his thoughts were completely stopped by another new feeling. The young adult couldn't exactly pinpoint what was this new feeling so he shrugged it off and closed in on his bed. But then the feeling came back, only it was stronger this time; and before he knew it, he fell uncionscious before his body even hit the mattress.

* * *

 _6:15 a.m. He never sleeps this late..._

Ever since coming home earlier this morning, Dana was becoming worried for her brother. She knew he came home last night, that would explain the door opening.

Anyway, she felt terrible after having said all those things to him and she cried herself to sleep. Alex was the one who raised her since she was a baby, he was the one who struggled to earn money for the both of them and he was the one who pushed himself every single day to work and to spend time with her... despite the effects of stress and exhuastion.

Stopping in front of his door, Dana almost hesitated to knock... almost. Taking in a deep breath, Dana knocked on his door and waited.

When he didn't answer, she thought that he was still asleep and knocked harder.

No response...

Panicking, Dana pounded her fists on the door relentlessly. "Alex? Alex!" Unable to stop herself anymore, she opened the door roughly.

"Alex-" If it was a normal day, Dana would've thought that Alex was only pulling a prank on her... and she hoped that was just it.

Moving closer, Dana saw Alex's still form underneath the covers. Mentally preparing herself, she reached for the edge of the blanket and pulled it down.

Dana leaned in closer to her brother's face, wanted to check if he was just sleeping... wanted to check if he was still breathing... She felt instant relief when she knew he was sleeping, but for him to sleep this late... it was kind of unnerving.

She made a move to place her hand on his forehead, but then his hand suddenly grabbed her and Dana found herself staring right at him.

"D-Dana?" He stuttered. "Why are you... here?" He managed to say.

Taking his hand and clasping it with her own, Dana lowered her head down and kissed his hand gently.

"I'm sorry about last night... I was irrational and ignorant and stupid and I-" but she was interrupted when Alex placed his free hand on her cheek.

"You're not those things, Dana..." Alex comforted her. "If anyone should be those things..." and he turned his head to one side, not wanting to show a moment of weakness.

"It should be me..." he breathed. Blinking his eyes tiredly, Alex began to sit himself upright and faced his little sister with a smile on his face.

"Are you sure you're alright? You can take it easy for today and I can miss school for once." Dana suggested.

Shaking his head, Alex yawned and rubbed his tired eyes. "No, you can't..." another yawn. "Need to go to school and I need to go back to work."

"No!" Dana yelled and stood up. "You can't! I know you're not feeling well and I don't want to go away for a whole day, knowing that you're sick!"

"I... don't want...you to worry," Alex rasped, swaying slightly as he stood up. "I need to go... You need to go." He started limping towards his desk, grabbing a small container he was about to pour its contents... when Dana snatched it away from his hand.

"What is this?" She pressed. Reading the label on it, she was quite unhappy with what he was taking. "Grade-A Painkillers? Why were you taking these?"

Without saying a word, Alex staggered towards the door and lazily opened it. He barely made it outside, when he was grabbed by Dana.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dana snapped. "I can't let you go..."

Shaking his head, the young scientist roughly removed his sister's hold on him and clamped his hand over his mouth as he tried to swallow down bile.

"Alex? You have to rest..." Dana suggested once more and tried to push Alex back inside his room.

"No!" Alex yelled and accidentally shoved Dana so hard, that she fell on her bottom. Shocked, both Alex and Dana stared at each other... neither of them saying a word.

Dana started to pick herself up and all Alex could do was watch, "I'm sorry..." he whispered. "I'm... sorry..." he repeated once more and backed away slowly.

"Alex," Dana's eyes widened as she saw Alex backing away. "Alex... don't. I'm fine!" She desperately reassured him, waving her hands as a sign of well-being.

"No... no, no, no..." Alex shook his head in denial, still backing away from her; unaware of the danger he was putting himself into. "No, I hurt you! I promised that I wouldn't!" He wailed as tears flowed from his bloodshot eyes.

"No, Alex! You didn't hurt me!" She tried again.

Alex laced his hand through his bed-raggled hair. Then he pressed his other fist to his lips and then to his hips, looking like a man who was lost. He started pacing in front of Dana as he lost his cool.

"I...I... I need to go." He managed to say and ran down the stairs in a hurry.

"Wait- Where are you going?!" Dana called as she ran after him.

"Anywhere but here!" Alex hissed and dashed outside the building, closely followed by Dana. "Don't follow me!" He barked.

Outside, he looked around his surroundings nervously as people crossed his path. Unable to face his sister, he decided that he wanted to be left alone and that he needed some time to think.

"Alex!" He heard Dana call. Muttering a curse underneath his breath, Alex tried crossing the street with his pounding headache.

Come on! Dana shouted within her mind. "Alex come back!" Keeping her eyes on Alex and to the passing cars that was barely missing him, she decided to cross the street as well.

"Alex!" She called again, louder this time. "Alex, wait-" but she was cut off, when she saw a speeding car careening towards her. Not wanting to see it, Dana closed her eyes so she can have deniability.

"Watch out!"

And before she knew it, a large mass collided against her small frame... sending her flying backwards and slammed against a parked car of sorts.

The loud ringing in her ears disappated after a while and once she opened her eyes, she saw a crowd grouped in front of her. Groaning as she tried to push herself upright, she was stopped by a pair of hands. At first she thought it was Alex, but after she looked up... she saw that it was an EMT and was already preparing to load her into a stretcher.

Concentrating, Dana tried to recall what had happened earlier. Blinking her eyes a few times, she was almost on the stretcher; when she remembered something.

 _"Watch out!"_

Someone had called out to her. It was fairly obvious that she wasn't the one that got directly hit by the car, that would explain the minor gashes and bruises all over her body... but she felt that she wanted-no... needed to see who saved her. Whipping her head around... she slipped past the EMT and the crowd and found herself in another situation.

 _Blood..._ There was blood everywhere. Dana looked in front of her and saw another crowd, blocking her view. Groaning in annoyance, she pushed herself into the crowd and she came out just in time to see her saviour.

Just in time to see that her saviour... was actually her brother.

Shaking her head and tears welling up in her eyes, she covered her mouth with both of her hands as she staggered towards Alex. His face showed that he was in pain... a lot of pain. His breathing was coming in between gasps, followed by the sound of wheezing and she wanted to turn away, so she can't see her brother's pained expression. His entire frame was covered in blood and the ones that had not been entirely covered, showed deep lacerations; that oozed out more blood. She didn't know if it was the shock or her tears, but Dana found herself kneeling to the ground and placed one hand on Alex's bloody one.

"A-Alex..." she rasped.

But she didn't received any signs of response from her brother.

"Alex..." she repeated, shaking his shoulders slightly. "Alex, this isn't funny anymore!"

When he didn't stir nor twitch, Dana's sobs increased as she gingerly pulled Alex closer to him. With her free hand, Dana tried to apply much needed pressure on his wound... but that wasn't enough. She could already tell the paling of his skin and the large amount of blood, that was pooling around them.

Dana cared no less that her clothes were being soiled, she cared no less as the EMT's tried to remove Alex from her hold. All she could think of... all she cared about right now...

"I need you..." she sobbed, burying her head on his shoulder. Her hand moved down to his chest, pulling him closer. "You bastard... if you had told me that you were sick, I would've taken care of you just fine."

But then she felt something change, he was now moaning in pain and with each breath he took; he gagged as if he was not able to breathe.

Panicking, Dana looked down upon him and shook him gently. "Alex? Are you o-"

And then he stopped breathing.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey guys! This is the first part of my two – shot entitled: You're Not Invincible.

Just a little cliffhanger for you guys before you proceed to the second and final part.

Let me know about what you guys think.


	2. Chapter 2

**YOU'RE NOT INVINCIBLE...**

 **By:** michi-nee-san. Co-written with jeanosauryehet27

 **A/N:** Part two and I updated this today on purpose.

* * *

In that exact same moment, Dana swore that her heart skipped a few beats. As soon as she started crying madly, with her hands and lips trembling; the EMTs rushed to the two of them and removed Alex from his shocked sister.

As Dana watched the medics try to revive her brother, a memory crept inside her head as she remembered something from when they were still with their poor excuse of a mother.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _Agnes Mercer. Even though her name meant pure, gentle and meek; to everyone that knew her... it was the complete opposite._

 _When Dana was five, the fights that occured inside their house was getting more and more frequent and all the more bloody. Heck... if Hitler saw those fights, he would've recruited them both straight away._

 _She was quietly playing with dolls inside her room, after she had been ordered to do so by her sixteen year old brother. After a while, young Dana decided to take a wee nap. Even though he doesn't notice, Dana already knew what he meant by sending her to her room. It's because he didn't want to let her witness all the fights he had been with their satan-like mother._

 _Downstairs, she heard the door open loudly and get slammed shut; and she knew who did it and what was bound to happen next... so she climbed straight up to bed and covered her ears with her pillow._

 _Closing her eyes tightly, she tuned out the sounds of fighting, cussing, destruction and yelling of her mother and brother._

 _"It'll go away soon..." Dana whispered to herself. "It always does. And then Alex and I will play! Yes... we'll play again."_

 _This fight, however... lasted longer than what she was used to. She heard faint noises coming from downstairs and the sound of her mother leaving once more. When she knew that her mother won't be back until she calmed down, Dana jumped out of bed and walked out of her room. When she got to the staircase, she already noticed the signs of wreckage and the blood that was smeared in some places. Panicking as she remembered what Alex told her about blood, Dana ran down the staircase and gasped as she saw the state of the living room._

 _It was in a very horrible condition, the windows were shattered along with a few vases they had. Chairs lay broken on the floor, shattered glass spread across the room and to put it more accurately; it looked like a complete war zone._

 _Tear welling up as she stepped inside the living room, Dana started searching for her brother-though she tried her best not to run around the living room with all the broken furniture lying around._

 _Then she caught sight of the unmistakable brown hair, that she knew that belonged to her brother. Truding slowly, Dana tried to keep her cool as she walked closer to her brother._

 _There was Alex, slumped down on the couch, his shirt bathed in blood and his breathing ragged as he moaned in pain._

 _"Alex!" Dana shrieked and ran towards her wounded brother's side. Kneeling beside him, Dana felt around his torso for signs of severe injuries; not like the blood was enough proof..._

 _"Don't!" His brother warned, hindering her from what she was doing. Reaching down on the side of his waist, Alex clenched his teeth in pain as he tried to pull something out of his side._

 _"What the-" as her mouth gaped wide open, staring at the foreign material that her brother pulled out of his body. "Alex... what are you-"_

 _"Shh..." and placed on finger to his lips. "Don't make a sound..." and let the bloody object fall limp by his side, wincing as pain struck him; Blood gushing out of the wound._

 _"What happened?" She asked._

 _"It's nothing". He waved his hand off and a thin smile curled his lips. "Don't worry about it kid, it's not your problem, it's mine."_

 _Shaking her head, Dana stared into her brother's eyes with her teary ones._

 _"You're hurt." She whimpered. "I don't want you to leave me."_

 _Softening his hardened gaze, Alex sighed as he patted Dana's head. "Don't cry. I hate it when you do that." Alex whispered softly, stroking her hair. "I won't leave you..."_

 _"Alex!" Dana wailed and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug._

 _The older Mercer laughed and kissed the top of her brown hair. "Don't worry kid. I'm not gonna leave. I promise."_

 _Dana slightly pulled away and looked at him with a hopeful expression. "You promise?"_

 _Alex looked down on his sister and smiled, his eyes portraying happiness. "I promise. Pinky swear on it?"_

 _Dana nodded and held her pinky out to him, lacing it with his own. "Pinky swear."_

 ** _End of flashback_**

If she thought that was the worst day of her life... she thought wrong. And in those moments as she stared at his lifeless body... lying on the ground, pale and she prayed to God he wasn't... _dead_.

They had already gotten rid of the sweater that he wore and ripped his shirt open, they even unbuckled his belt so that he could breathe properly.

Dana couldn't help but let the tears flow down her still wet cheeks.

He had promised her that he wouldn't leave her... had promised to be there for her. And now... he'll get to break his own promise.

 _No!_ She screamed within her mind.

 _He had to keep his promise._

 _She can't afford to lose him._

 _Alex is the only family that she ever had._

 _And she loved her brother more than anything and anyone else in her entire life._

 _He was everything to her..._

In the midst of the situation, Dana crawled towards Alex and watched as the medics desperately tried to pump oxygen into his lungs... tried to get his heart beating again.

"Fuck, he's not responding!" A medic cried as he tried to pump his palms against Alex's bloody and bare chest. "Go bring me the defibrillators and the oxygen mask, stat!" He barked to his assistant and did so.

The assistant came back with the much needed objects and placed them beside his superior.

Taking the defibrillators, he rubbed it against each other and it hissed as it charged.

"110 joule charge! Clear! Shoot!" And brought it down Alex's chest. His body arched and came down with a thud, but the shock wasn't enough.

"Shit... 250 joule charge! Clear! Shoot!" And did it again. This time however, he was revived and the lead medic sighed in relief as he felt a pulse on his neck. In response, the assistant placed the oxygen mask directly over his nose and mouth.

His chest started to rise and fall once more, relieving Dana of her anxiety. But that moment was short lived, when she heard gagging noises coming from Alex.

"Alex!" She cried, reaching towards her brother. "Big brother are you okay?"

"C-Can't...B-...Breathe..." He choked, his right hand clawing at his throat. "Da...na... Help!"

"I-I don't know what to do!" Dana panicked and looked at the medics beside them, removing the oxygen mask. "Shit! Doctor he's not breathing properly!"

"Lan..gua..ge.." Alex rasped.

"You're seriously going to fuss about the medic's crappy language?!" Dana quipped.

The medic by her side stifled a laugh and turned his attention back to Alex, when his breathing had become too choked.

The lead medic probed around Alex's torso, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with his patient again.

As soon as he pressed his index finger on the left side of his chest, Alex hissed in pain and limply swatted the medic's hand away, falling unconscious once more.

The assistant looked a little bit closer to the spot where his superior had poked and cursed underneath his breath for not noticing it before. _I blame all this blood!_

"Doctor! I believe it's pneumothorax!" He yelled directly at his superior's face, earning a slap to the cheek.

"Don't yell at me!" And clicked his tongue, grabbing the wet cloth from his kit; he carefully wiped the blood clean and immediately noticed the large bruise that was covering most of his chest.

"Holy _fucking_ shit!" The lead medic cursed and fumbled around the kit. "Fuck, where is it?!"

"What the heck are you looking for?!" Dana shrieked, surprising both the medics and Alex at the same time.

"I don't know! Something sharp!" He retorted back and kept searching.

Dana wasn't quite sure what was happening around her, nor why she was yelling at them... but she was absolutely frustrated!

The assistant was now helping his superior look for a sharp object, then he realized something and slapped himself; earning a glance from Dana and his superior.

"My pen! We can use my pen!" And grabbed the pen from his shirt pocket and handed it to his superior.

Giving his gratitude, the lead medic snatched it from his hand and opened the cap. Once he had removed the cap and the thin plastic tube of ink, he broke the case into two and hovered it over the bruised side.

"Ready?" The lead medic asked. His assistant nodded and response, while Dana was confused.

"I'm sorry... ready for what exactly?"

"You might want to look away," the assistant suggested as he turned Dana's head to one side. "You're not going to like it."

"But why-" but her sentence was cut off, when she saw the lead medic stab Alex with the other half of the pen's case.

In response, Alex gasped in pain as he felt the sharp edges of the case embbed itself unto his bruised chest. But nevertheless, he felt relieved at the thought of having being able to breathe again; gulping in air and relishing the way having the ability to breathe again, was once again obtained.

In Dana's case, the assistant had to hold her back; as to not accidentally create another patient... which is his superior.

Working as fast as he could, the other medic temporarily bandaged the case on his chest and enclosed a neck brace around his neck and placed the mask over his nose and mouth, again...

"Help me get him on the stretcher," he ordered and grabbed Alex's neck carefully.

"Shit. This fucker's so heavy," the medic muttered as he and his superior carried the unconscious man and placed him on the stretcher. Wheeling him away, they folded the front legs of the stretcher and pushed it inside carefully; as soon as they made sure that their patient wouldn't fall off, they did the same to the back legs.

"Miss? You should come with us." The assistant offered, "You were a part of the accident."

Without a second thought, Dana bolted towards the ambulance and climbed inside; the assistant closing the doors behind her.

"Let's go."

* * *

 ** _Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, 9:27 a.m._**

"Critical patient! Please clear away from the path!"

As he lied down on the stretcher, Alex merely focused on breathing and keeping himself from falling unconscious. He turned his head to one side and he saw Dana running with the medics, just the thought of Dana with by his side enlightened him and he was happy. But when he realized that he had scared her, he was filled with heart-wrenching pain at all the guilt he had acquired.

"This is as far as you can go, Miss. We have to bring him inside." The doctor calmly said. "We'll do our best." He added lastly, before entering the operating room.

"Please bring my brother back safe and sound..." Dana whispered softly to no one in partucular and hugged herself, sat in the bench nearby and whispered reassuring prayers into the air.

 ** _A few hours later..._**

Dana hadn't realized that she fell asleep on that bench, she only found out when she was being gently shook on the shoulder by someone.

Opening her tired eyes, Dana yawned and pushed herself upright. Rubbing her eyes and the back of her neck, she blinked tiredly as she focused on the person in front of her.

"Wh-What? Who are you-"

"I'm the surgeon who operated on the patient that was involved in the car accident earlier." He said, taking the mask off of his face. "Are you the patient's guardian?" He asked.

Nodding, Dana stood up and shook the doctor's hand. "Yes, although I'm his sister. I'm Dana." She introduced. "Is my brother okay?" She asked, suddenly worried.

Shaking his head, the doctor lowered his head and Dana felt her world shatter around her.

"We've done all we can, he was in a very bad condition when he was brought here and his wounds were already infected. We had to use seven bags of blood while operating on him, so he wouldn't run out. We fixed his arm into a cast and I had to make sure that he'll pull through." The doctor stated.

Dana felt like crying again, but she had to show the doctor that she was strong. "There's something else, is there..." she pressed.

Sighing in frustration, the doctor nodded. "Did you know that he was... ill, before the accident?" A short nod from Dana and he continued, "Well... due to the fact that he was ill, sleep deprived and overly stressed, he has fallen into a coma to recuperate and we do not know when he will come to."

And with that, Dana cried openly once more. He's in a coma? She thought over and over, crying and hugging herself.

"C-Can I... see... him?" She managed to say, looking at the doctor with red-rimmed eyes.

"You may, let me show you to his room." And he took hold of Dana's hand and led her to a series of hallways, took the lift and led her to another set of hallways.

"Ahh... we're here." The doctor pointed and Dana nodded in response.

"Thank you, Doctor." She thanked and entered the room quietly.

It was a simple room really, not as extravagant as the VIP and not as plain and dull as the other ones. The room consisted of one bed, a couch, a coffee table, a television and different kinds of medical equipment.

Walking towards the bed, Dana stared at her brother's sleeping figure. He was wearing the clothes that the hospital provided, not those revealing hospital gowns; it was a long-sleeved loose shirt and loose pants. He was so pale, so still... it unnerved her to see him like this. Some parts of his face were covered in patches, he had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and an IV bag was hooked to his left arm. From what she could see... it would seem that his chest was also wrapped in white bandages and his arm was in a cast, as the doctor had stated. Dana's chest was filled with guilt, as she remembered what she had said to Alex earlier this morning; with that, she put a chair beside his bed and carassed his hair.

"Hi Alex... it's me, Dana." She started, clearing her throat and curled her lips into a smile. "I hope you'll feel better soon, I want to hear your voice again... see you smile."

When he hadn't responded, Dana's smile faded as tears took its place. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, letting the tears fall onto his limp arm. "I'm sorry..." she reapeated, unsure of what to say to him.

Inside the room, Dana talked to him... tried to coax him out of his coma. She made funny jokes, shared a few stories and just... stayed with him.

As the sun set, the doctors told her that she needed to rest as well; after they tended to her bruises. They asked her if she wanted to stay or come back tomorrow, she picked the latter and a nurse gave her a spare pillow and blanket. She made herself comfortable on the provided couch, and before she slept; she looked at Alex one more time, before letting her eyelids drop... sending her to sleep.

Morning came all too soon, and Dana woke up to the blinding rays of sunlight; shining through the window.

Stretching her arms out, she looked over to her brother.

"Good morning, Alex." She said softly and walked towards his bed. Leaning down, she planted a small kiss on his forehead and smiled sadly. "I'll come back later."

And left his room to go home.

* * *

 ** _Upper Westside, Renalia building, Alex Mercer's Apartment, 7:30 a.m._**

Opening the door, Dana sighed as she turned the lights on.

 _Sure is lonely..._ she remarked and went upstairs to take a shower and get a new change of clothing.

After she had finished, she entered the kitchen and opened the fridge; taking ingredients to make herself a sandwich.

While she was making her breakfast, she heard an irritating... yet, hilarious ringtone.

 _Meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow~_

 _Meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow-meow~_

 _Aaannndd... he left his phone._ And looked for her brother's phone, finding it inside his room and underneath his bed sheets.

"Hello?"

 _"Hello? This is Angela calling, is Alex there?"_ The woman-Angela asked.

"I'm sorry. But my brother is..." she stopped before answering, thoroughly thinking about how to answer properly. "Unavailable..."

 _"Dana? Okay, but where is he? McMullen is interrogating us over the phone, just because Alex isn't responding."_ She stated.

"McMullen? Why?" She asked. "Is about work? Because Alex doesn't need that sort of thing right now." She added.

 _"Well, I_ am _calling from work... so maybe it is?"_ She answered sarcastically. _"But seriously though, if Alex isn't there... I'll just bring this pile of paperwork from McMullen over to his apartment. This may take a while though, this is a lot of paperwork."_ Angela replied.

Whatever sadness Dana felt earlier, it was replaced by anger and hatred for McMullen.

"No need... I'll be there in a few." She hissed and before Angela could reply, she hung up and stormed out of the room.

Not even caring about putting everything away, she just grabbed her sandwich and her coat; then locked the door.

* * *

"He's in a what?!" Jean shrieked.

"A coma Jean, how many times does Dana have to explain it to you?" Travis quipped.

Shaking her head, Dana looked at her brother's group of friends at work. Frankly, the poor girl thought her brother didn't have any; until now.

"So let's just clear some things up... Alex is in a coma, right?" A nod from Dana.

"Okay. And the reason for it, is because he was sick and his body decided to take a break from the outside world." Jean said.

"Also because of McMullen, who handed him the pile of paperwork." Travis added.

"And then he took an overnight shift yesterday, Jean saw him walking out of his office." Angela concluded.

"I'm starting to hate this McMullen guy..." Dana hissed. The others nodded in agreement.

Out of the blue, the landline began to ring; signaling the others to answer the call. The three adults then looked at each other intensely, Travis pointed at Jean and Jean pointed at Angela, while she pointed at Travis.

After a few more intense gazes and pointing, Travis was the 'chosen one' and was instructed to answer the call.

"More like the chosen _slave_ ," Travis mumbled beneath his breath. "Hello? This is the GENTEK Facility, Travis Coleman speaking."

When the caller had stated who he was, Travis suddenly became half-nervous and half-serious.

"Yes, Dr. McMullen. We were just talking to Dr. Mercer's sister. Uh-huh..." then he looked over to Dana. He wants to talk to you... he mouthed and reached the phone over to Dana.

"This is Dana Mercer speaking. Who are you?" She demanded, quite sternly.

 _"Good morning, my dear. This is McMullen and I want to talk to your brother."_ McMullen replied over the phone.

 _McMullen? Oh... I have a lot of things to say to you._ "What is your business with my brother, Dr. McMullen? If it isn't that of importance, please hang up and don't bother him."

 _"Excuse me? I am his boss! I demand to talk to him immediately!"_ He shouted and Dana moved the phone away for a second, before resuming the conversation.

"Listen to me, you overgrown prick! Just because you're his boss, doesn't neccessarily mean that you can control like a mindless bot! Because of you, my brother got sick and he tried to hide it! He put on a strong façade to show you that he was fine! Well guess what? He's in a fucking coma because you drowned him in work and they don't know when he'll wake up!" She roared, behind her; the three adults were taken aback by her sudden outburst.

"They really are siblings..." Jean whispered, earning nods from her co-workers.

 _"A coma? Nonsense! He's just sick-"_

"You wanna know why he's in a coma?! Yesterday, we fought after I found out that he was sick and I told him to stay! But he didn't listen, 'cause I knew he wanted to finish the work you gave him and I chased him outside. I was about to be hit by a car, but he pushed me to safety! He's the one who got hurt! And he almost died twice! I hope this weighs like hollow blocks on your conscience, because if he never wakes up... so help me, I'll run you over a thousand times; till even your mother doesn't recognize you!" She finished and hung up violently.

"Well, that was... intense." Angela remarked.

"So, what now?" Jean asked and everyone else stared at her. "What? So Alex is in a coma, what are we going to do?"

"We just wait, I guess..." Dana said in a quiet voice. Sighing, she made her way towards the door. "I better go... Somebody has to take care of Alex."

"Wait!" The others exclaimed in unison.

"We want to go, too!" Angela chirped.

"Yeah!" Jean agreed and bolted out of the room.

"Might as well..." Travis shrugged and followed Jean out of the room.

Dana was happy, to say the least... She looked at her brother's friends and knew they were true. Smiling, she took Angela's hand and they followed the two out of the building.

* * *

 ** _Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, one week later..._**

In her hand, Dana held a medium-sized box and was closely followed by Jean, Travis and Angela; each holding different things.

They were headed towards Alex's room and she was excited! Because, it was Alex's 25th birthday.

It has been over a week since the accident and lots of things happened... Somebody got slapped and groveled, while she burned a few documents. It was nothing much really... just a bunch of science-y stuff and numbers, Dana had yet to understand.

So here they were... about to have a birthday party inside Alex's hospital room.

 _At least we'll be together..._ she thought before entering the room. "Happy Birthday Alex!" They all greeted in unison.

Setting down the box that she held, Dana went over to Alex and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm done with decorating!" Angela chirped and Dana spun around to see her handiwork. It was amazing! The streamers were hanged just in the right places, the balloons were tied and or taped to the walls and some of it, on Alex's bed. And she can hear Alex's hilarious phone ringtone as the background music even in low volume, probably turning it low so it wouldn't disturb her brother

"Thank you, Miss Angela." And she hugged her.

"No problem." Angela said and hugged her back. After they let go of each other, Angela started arranging the food next; whilst Dana opened the box she had carried earlier.

Inside was a cake that she baked herself. It was round and it had a beautiful cream frosting. For the decoration, she used fondant to create a miniature model of a DNA strand and there was a picture of Alex that was taped to a toothpick and she wrote, 'Happy Birthday Alex! Love, Dana.'

"Dang! That cake looks good, Dana!" Travis exclaimed.

Blushing slightly, Dana set it down on the table gently and nodded.

"I made it myself," she replied. "Alex would've scolded me, but I wanted to do this for him."

"You're such a nice little sister..." Jean remarked.

While setting up for the small party, a doctor came and checked up on Alex. It was nothing much, just came to check on his vitals and to see if he can figure out when he'll wake.

"It can be any day now... who knows? Maybe he'll wake up today." He told them.

Dana and the others were relieved. Alex could wake up today or tomorrow! So after they had finished setting up, Dana took the cake and lighted the candle with a match.

After singing the annoying birthday song, Dana placed the cake a few inches away from Alex's face.

"You can blow out your candle, Alex... if you could just wake up." She said. When he didn't respond nor twitch, Dana closed her eyes and was about to blow the candle... when she felt somebody else do it.

"Now for my wish... I wish I knew how you got those three rascals to do your bidding..."

Looking up, she saw Alex smiling at her. "Hello, Dana..." he greeted, although his voice was a bit choked.

"Alex!" Dana exclaimed and almost hugged him if it weren't for the cake she was holding.

Chuckling, Alex used what little strength he had to place his hand on top of her head and ruffled her hair.

"Ehem... aren't you forgetting something?" Angela interrupted.

"Sorry..." Dana apologized. She carefully placed the cake back on the table and picked up a small device.

"So you're awake now!" Travis said. "Thought you'll stay like that until I marry-I mean... until Dana turns twenty."

"Seriously?" Angela mumbled.

"So Dana... looks like you've been busy." Alex commented, staring at the decorations; as his bed was being raised by a remote that Dana was holding.

"Yeah, I was. From what you've been through, you deserve it." She simply said, smiling.

Alex smiled back, then suddenly keeled over in pain. Worried, Dana rushed over to his side and immediately asked if he was alright.

"I'm fine..." Alex moaned, his voice shaking. Leaning back on his bed, Alex closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Although Dana wasn't convinced, she didn't argue with him. He almost died last time.

"Are we going to eat or not?" Jean huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alex is awake and all you can think of is food?" Angela deadpanned. Jean shrugged and nodded. "Didn't you eat a corndog earlier?"

"I did... but this is a _cake_ for Pete's sake!" She shouted, raising her arms to properly punctuate her stament.

"Cool your jets, Jean. Birthday boy gets first slice." Travis replied.

Jean huffed and sat on the couch, her face inches away from Alex's cake.

"So do you want some cake, Alex?" Dana asked her brother. Opening his eyes, Alex slowly shook his head and yanwed.

"Nah... I'm tired. And I think that I'm not allowed to eat solid food, at least after a few days." Alex answered.

"Is that so?" Dana muttered. "I'm sorry about that."

Smiling sweetly, Alex waved his hand and sighed. "Well don't be. I'm the one who should be sorry. I got caught up with work, I hid my condition to you and worked myself to death. It's only fair to you, that I apologize." And he tried pushing himself upright, but was stopped by a pair of hands on his shoulder; that pushed him back down.

"It's not your fault. If anything... I believe McMullen is the one who should be apologizing to you." Dana smirked and the others nodded in agreemnet and stifled a laugh.

Confused, Alex eyed all of them and gave them a funny look.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing..." Jean said innocently.

"Just remembered something," Travis added.

Facepalming, Angela shook her and smiled. "Dana scolded McMullen, humillated him in front of everyone by making him grovel and that was after she slapped him." She concluded.

"You should have seen the look on his face!" Jean laughed, holding her sides. "It was epic!"

Travis interrupted them by showing Alex a recording of said humillation and they all laughed in amusement. Alex on his part, tried not to; but who couldn't resist laughing at McMullen worshipping Dana, while wearing the 'cone of shame' on top of his head. So as he laughed, he occasionally winced from time to time, but nevertheless... it was funny as hell.

"I can't believe you did that," Alex mused.

"What can I say?" Dana said with a smug look on her face. "I get fierce when somebody tries to mess with Alex."

"Time for presents!" Angela exclaimed and grabbed a box from the table. "Here's a present from... Travis!" And threw the gift towards Dana.

Catching it, Dana showed it to Alex and he smiled; taking the box as he did.

Shaking it, Alex opened the box and looked at it with amusement. "Painkillers... Seriously?"

Shocked, Dana glared at Travis and gave him a punch to his shoulder. "You're just encouraging him to hide his pain from me!" She whined and pouted.

"Ehem... there's another one inside." Travis told him.

Nodding, Alex grabbed the remaining object from the box. "Bus tickets? Thanks... I guess."

"Okay! Next up is a present from... Jean!" And threw the next present to Dana, who caught it with ease.

Handing Alex the present, Dana was curious about what Jean had bought for him.

Opening it, Alex tried not to snicker. "It's an umbrella..."

"You better treasure it! That's custom made! It cost me my whole weekend!" She said. "And it comes with an accessory!" Then Jean took something out of her bag and placed it on Alex's head. "Ta-da! Cat ears!"

The others looked at him in amusement, Travis snapped a photo with his new phone and Dana placed her palm against her mouth as to not burst out laughing.

"A cat-themed umbrella... cost you your weekend and a headband with cat ears." Alex deadpanned. "Thank you, Jean for your wonderful gift..." He said with a little sarcasm.

Nodding, Jean turned around and began to stare at the cake again with Travis.

"Here's a gift from me." Angela said and tossed the gift towards Dana.

"What is it?" Dana chirped. As Alex opened it, he saw a black leather jacket with two white stips on each sleeve and had a red tribal mark on the back; that resembled a dragon of sorts.

"No way!" Dana gasped. "You bought it?! The one I said that would look good on him!"

"Well, yeah... I know how much you love Alex and he surely needs one, so I bought it." She answered.

"Out of all three gifts, I'd say this is the most decent one after Dana's cake." Alex commented and set the jacket aside.

"My turn!" Dana shouted and grabbed a box just below Alex's bed and placed it on his lap.

Alex winced in pain, but otherwise fine. He looked at the box in curiosity. Is it a new set of test tubes? Or is it a new pair of shoes? He thought to himself.

"Open it! Open it! Open it!" The four shouted in unison.

So Alex opened the box and his face scrunched up in confusion. It seemed empty, but then he saw little ears that twitched. What the- and then a kitten popped out and jumped outside.

"D'aaaaawwww... kitty!" The trio exclaimed.

"You bought a cat?" Alex asked Dana and she nodded.

"What are you going to name him?" Jean asked.

"How about... Abomination?" He answered.

"Well I think we should call him Lexie!" Dana chirped and stroked the kitten's fur. The kitten in response, purred in gratitude and jumped onto Dana's arms.

"Who's the fwoofy widdle kitty? You are! Yes you do! Yes you do!" Dana cooed.

"Oh kitty meow-meow-meow. My widdle kitty..." Dana sung and Jean whispered something to Alex.

"Make sure she doesn't turn into a cat lady..." she warned and Alex nodded in agreement, shocked to see Dana act like that.

So for the next few hours, they spent their time: chatting, telling jokes, playing with Lexie and taking photos.

Even before the sun had set, Alex was sleeping again while the others cleaned up. Travis and the others bid farewell and left, Dana was sitting down on the couch; with Lexie sleeping on her lap and she couldn't help but stare at her brother while he slept.

 _He looks so peaceful..._ she mused. As she recalled the events that happened last week, Dana had one thought that would never disappear from her memories.

"I will always be by your side... I will always be there for you and you'll always be my brother. No matter what happens..." she whispered.

"So please don't do anything that may harm you... because you're not invincible." She added softly.

* * *

 **THE END**

 **A/N:** Happy birthday to our favourite borderline sociopath/ virus/ badass anti-hero!

This is the last part of this two-shot and as I stated in the previous one: I would love to hear from the people who are reading this!

Alex's ringtone is from the ringtone of Kim Bok Joo in Weightlifting Fairy. We just changed the lyric 'Nom' to 'Meow'. Here's the link if you wanna hear it. Just remove the space when you open the link on youtube. watch?v=n7ZexrcJ8Sg

So bye bye and see you in the next story!


End file.
